With Interior Secretary Mar Roxas today bagging the endorsement of President Benigno Aquino III at the historic Club Filipino, the presidential race for the 2016 elections is off to a very fluid and murky start.

Within 24 hours of Aquino delivering his last State of the Nation Address, Rep. Manny Pacquiao became a hot issue when Yacap partylist Rep. Carol Lopez floated his name as a possible senatorial candidate for the Liberal Party as the Filipino boxing icon is being wooed to join the administration party.

Lopez, who before was closely identified with the moribund Lakas-NUCD party, has apparently shifted alliance. Whether her statement carried the weight of the Liberal Party or not, there is no escaping that Pacquiao remains a hot political commodity even if he had lost the good graces of Malacañang.

Undisputed UNA standard bearer and Vice President Jejomar Binay lost no time disputing reports Pacquiao is going over the other side of the political fence.

No, there is no truth Pacquiao is “rejoining” the Liberal Party, Binay said.

And, yes, Pacquiao has given the assurances that his loyalty remains with Binay whose presidential ambition is taking a beating, with him losing the lead in political surveys.

Pacquiao himself may be in a dilemma.

While he attended the UNA gathering after Binay officially severed his ties with the Aquinos, none of his local party mates in the People’s Champ Movement, a local party Pacquiao created, were present.

Pacquiao may be the undisputed political kingpin in his adopted province of Sarangani and a name to reckon with in the senatorial race, but winning a national position will not come cheap now that Binay’s own resources and war chests are being constricted.

With no vice president, few political stalwarts in his senatorial slate and unsure of funds, Binay needs all the political mileage he can get.

Pacquiao is his prized catch.

Pacquiao knows what it is and how life will be if Binay loses in the presidential election next year.

Not only will he again get politically burned, his woes may even worsen.

In a Roxas presidency, his tax cases will proceed and he will absorb vicious persecution from his local political nemesis who are Roxas’ allies before they were Aquinos’– the Antoninos.

Yes, while Pacquiao defeated the Antoninos by way of his friend and party mate General Santos City Mayor Ronnel Rivera, who defeated then re-electionist Darlene Antonino-Custodio, he has not escaped the subtle political wrath of Malacañang.

Recall that Pacquiao joined the wrong side of the Liberal Party – the disgraced Atienza wing. Recall, too, that he supported Nacionalista presidential candidate Manny Villar in the 2010 election and even indirectly called Aquino ‘panot’ (bald). Recall too that he did not sign the impeachment complaint against former Ombudsman Mercedita Gutierrez and against the former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, both of which Aquino lobbied for very hard.

The tax cases filed against him, undoubtedly a result of his political decisions, have given Pacquiao more than his share of beatings – personal and political.

Lopez may be friends with Pacquiao, but there is no way Pacquiao will again become a Liberal party member – not with the Antoninos holding its grip as Roxas’ closest allies in the region.

If Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte runs, that may be his other option. Pacquiao has stated that his heart is with goes for Duterte but his political loyalty is still with Binay.

If there is good and bad in Pacquiao’s politics, it is sometimes his misplaced and unwavering loyalty to political allies – good or bad allies – like former Sarangani Provincial Board Member Eugene Alzate who is now imprisoned for life after being convicted for malversation of public funds.

Now, Pacquiao is faced with an ally that is being accused of plunder in a much bigger graft case.

Pacquiao cannot also hope to join still undecided presidential hopeful Senator Grace Poe with whom the Antoninos are also political allies.

He is stuck with Binay, now carrying huge political baggage.

Pacquiao, who is reportedly nurturing presidential ambitions for 2022, is facing a huge political headache.

His political misfortunes, as far as relations with Malacañang are concerned, could be reversed depending on how he plays his cards in the 2016 general elections. And if Binay wins the presidency.

If he makes the wrong move, he may be check mated between 2016 and 2022.

Canned tuna exporters are expected to boost their revenues and competitiveness following the amendment of the Philippine cabotage law. Pic: Edwin Espejo.

Mindanao businessmen today lauded the signing of the Foreign Ships Co-Loading Act, which will reduce logistics costs for producers and create a more efficient import and export system.

“It will reduce shipping costs for Philippine exporters, especially coming from Mindanao,” said Raymond Salangsang, president of the General Santos City Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

General Santos City exports at least US$250 million worth of tuna products every year.

Senate President Franklin Drilon cited the direct shipping of dry cargo from Davao to Taiwan which only costs approximately $450 per 20-foot equivalent unit compared to $680 when shipped through Manila.

Under the old cabotage law, foreign ships are not allowed to load export cargo from ports throughout the country other than its port of destination which primarily is in Manila, unless granted special permit.

Most exporters in Mindanao are forced to transport their products to Davao or transship them to Manila, adding more to their overhead costs.

The law will also help in decongesting the major ports in the country.

Salangsang said the amendment to the cabotage law will give the resurgent banana industry in the region a boost and the possible return of pineapple export operations in the city.

Due to increased shipping costs, Dole Philippines Inc has centralized its export operations in Panabo City in Davao del Norte.

The Makar Wharf in General Santos City was once the hub of pineapple and banana exports in Mindanao, largely due to the presence of Dole Philippines and its sister company Stanfilco.

Banana plantations near the city closed down in the 1990s after more than 25 years of operation.

These plantations however are making a comeback in South Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao.

The new provision of the cabotage law also bodes well for the planned P1.2 billion expansion project at the Makar Wharf.

General Santos Mayor Ronnel Rivera earlier said they have been pushing for the rehabilitation of Makar Wharf, one of Mindanao’s biggest port complexes.

“This is the result of the Makar Port Development Summit we last year,” the city mayor revealed.

The proposed project will include additional berthing areas, reinforcement of the wharf columns and repairs of container yard rails.

Rivera also announced that DOTC has committed to upgrade the port’s plug-in facilities for refrigerated (refer) vans.

At present, the city mayor said the port has 204 plug-ins, but 34 of them are still powered by 220 volts.

“The international standard for refer van is 440 volts,” the city mayor explained.

In addition, Salangsang said 144 new refer van plug-ins would be installed next year.

“This is in anticipation to the increase volume of export shipments of bananas from the region when harvests begin this year,” he explained.

When someone rages at you without even glancing at your face, you know there is not only anger and hatred. There is the feeling of being betrayed.

Once given a beaded necklace by Ata Manobo tribal chieftain Bai Bibiyaon Ligkayan Bigkay, Cotabato Rep. Nancy Catamco is now despised by the tribe after she launched a botched ‘rescue attempt’ of 700 internally displaced tribe members seeking sanctuary at the heart of Davao City.

In a five-minute video clip posted by Kilab Multimedia, Bai Bibiyaon only glanced once at Rep. Catamco, holding the beaded necklace she gave the legislator.

“I gave you this bead necklace to signify we don’t want violence,” she said as she touched the memento.

At least two times, she told the lady legislator from Cotabao to shut up and listen.

Bibiyaon was speaking for members of her tribe who left their homes in the remote villages in Talaingod after the military occupied their houses and the schools.

“You said before you will come but the day you came you brought soldiers with you. That is painful to us,” she told Catamco, who continued to interrupt her.

Gotamco denied she brought soldiers but reports said two Army generals were with her when they forcibly entered the Haran Mission inside the compound of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.

She was also with around 500 soldiers, Davao City riot police and members of the military-backed paramilitary group Alamara.

One of the Alamara members who accompanied Catamco tearfully hugged his parents who are among those seeking refuge at the Haran Mission.

“I don’t want to be forced to join the Alamara for our tribe will be split apart,” Bai Bibiyaon railed.

The tribal chieftain said they were angered when Gotamco brought with her precisely soldiers they fled from.

Cotabato Rep. Nancy Catamco (holding microphone) brought with her two Army generals during a botched ‘rescue mission’ to bring back Ata Manobo tribes people to their conflict torn village in Talaingod, Davao City. Pic: Kilab Multimedia.

“In our times, it takes only two datus to sit and resolve our problems,” she said of the failure of authorities to address the problem.

In another scathing rebuke, she told Catamco, “Don’t look down at us because we have not been to school.”

A graduate of Ateneo de Davao University, Catamco was earlier quoted by the press to have said that the Ata Manobos stink.

“Did you say we stink? Didn’t you see that our supply is limited and we have to pay for it not like in the mountains where water is flowing,” Bai Bibiyaon reminded the legislator.

Every time Catamco tried to interrupt, she was bluntly told, “Keep quiet. Don’t answer me.”

Among Philippines tribes, it is disrespectful to interrupt an elder, much more a chieftain, while he or she is talking. More so, if one is in a middle of discourse describing a litany of grievances.

Bibiyaon is no ordinary elder and chieftain of the tribe, she is one of a handful of women tribal chieftains in Mindanao.

In her younger years, in 1994, she led the ‘pangayaw’ (tribal war) against the Integrated Forest Management Agreement project of Alcantara and Sons (Alsons) in Talaingod which resulted into bloody and violent clashes between the military and members of the tribe aided by the New People’s Army.

Alsons eventually pulled out of the area.

Bibyaon said they thought they will be spared violence and harassment by the military in the city.

She was wrong.

Catamco wanted the evacuees to go back home and brought with her government trucks.

But Bibiyaon wants nothing of it.

“I will not go back because things will be the same. I will face death in the hands of the soldiers and the Alamara,” she said.

Catamco eventually left empty handed. Not a single soul from the evacuees went with her.

But that was not after acting Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte arrived and held a dialogue with the evacuees.

He made them choose between going home and staying behind.

They all chose the latter.

(In the aftermath, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte derided Rep. Catamco for going beyond her mandate and intruding into the executive function of the local government of Davao City)

Reporter’s note: All quotes from Bai Bibiyaon Ligkayan Bigkay are lifted from English subtitles of the Kilab Multimedia video clip. All photo credits also go to Kilab Multimedia.

The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) said it has received funding facility from the European Union for a study to come up with a collective brand for Mindanao products in order to fetch premium prices in the export market.

In a presentation Thursday (July 23) at the opening of Mindanao Exporters Congress 2015 in Davao City, former trade undersecretary Merly Cruz said the Mindanao Collective Mark (MCM) project will provide the platform for a comprehensive program for the distinct quality and increased competitiveness of enterprises in the island.

“The same trademark will represent the intent of Mindanao’s industries to thrive in the local and international markets,” Cruz said in her presentation.

The facility will include formulation of guidelines and policies and capability building and technical training for government regulators.

Aside from MinDA, other the government agencies that will be involved in the project are the Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and local government units.

MinDA will also tap micro, small and medium enterprises in Mindanao in the formulation of guidelines and facilities.

The branding, Cruz added, “comes as a symbol that embodies these four essential factors – scale, quality, delivery and traceability.”

This could boost Philippine exports to the EU which recently granted the Philippines a GSP+ rating. Over 6,000 Philippine products, mostly agriculture-based are covered by the GSP+ rating.

Will there be a Philippine tuna brand soon? The Mindanao Develpment Authority is pushing for a collective branding of agricultural products and exports from the island. Photo is taken at one of the tuna canning plants in General Santos City.Pic by EDWIN ESPEJO

Cruz said they have initially identified agro-industrial clusters in Mindanao that could start trading using the collective mark by end of 2015.

Among them are the Northern Mindanao Development Corridor for banana, coconut, rubber, abaca and oil palm and the South-Central Mindanao Development Corridor for livestock and poultry products, including fishing.

The Western Mindanao Development Corridor is identified with coffee, cacao and seaweed products.

Cruz also said they hope to give Mindanao agricultural producers “a better understanding of the benefits of a collective trademark for Mindanao.”

She added that they also aim “to leverage on the existing organized industry clusters of Mindanao as vital entities to be involved in the establishment of Mindanao’s collective trademark.”

While still trade secretary under both the Estrada and Arroyo administrations, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas had egged tuna producers in General Santos City to come up with a singular brand – similar to the Bumble Bee of Thailand.

General Santos City is home to 6 of the country’s 7 tuna canning plant with annual export revenues of more than US$350 million, most of these coming from canned tuna products.

Philippine canned tuna exports, however, carry the label of importers.

The provincial government of South Cotabato is holding its ground on its decision not to allow open pit mining in any part in the province, putting again on hold the future of Sagittarius Mines Inc (SMI).

SMI owns the Tampakan Copper and Gold Project located in the mountainous area of Tampakan in South Cotabato.

In a resolution passed on July 21, the provincial board “reaffirmed the validity of Section 22 (B) of the Environment Code that prohibited the use of the open-pit mining method in mining activities” anywhere in South Cotabato.

The Provincial Environment Code was passed in 2010, which was signed by then outgoing Gov. Daisy Avance Fuentes.

Fuentes, who regained her post as provincial governor in 2013, said she “fully supports the provincial board’s stand on the open-pit mining ban.”

Provincial Board Member Ellen Grace Subere-Albios however said they have not totally banned mining in the province but only regulated it “through methods that would not gravely endanger and adversely impact the environment.”

The Tampakan project covers over 9,000 hectares of vegetated mountain range that straddles the towns of Columbio in Sultan Kudarat, Kiblawan in Davao del Sur and Tampakan in South Cotabato.

The local legislative body claimed SMI operations could cause massive deforestation, loss of biodiversity, degradation of lands and the depletion of the water resources of surrounding communities.

SMI however has repeatedly assured critics that it is taking its environmental responsibilities very seriously.

“We understand that mine waste and water management are important issues for our stakeholders and they form an important part of our design, operation and rehabilitation plans for the Project,” SMI said in its website.

According to SMI studies indicate royalty payments and direct contributions in excess of PhP39.8 billion ($1.2B) would be made to local communities and indigenous groups over the Project’s life in addition to the excise and other taxes it will pay to the national government.

The US$5.6B Tampakan project is reputed to contain Asia’s largest untapped copper deposits with estimated 2.94 billion tons at a grade of 0.51% copper and 0.19 grams per tonne gold, using a cut-off grade of 0.2%.

“This represents 15.0 million tonnes of copper and 17.6 million ounces of gold,” according to SMI.

SMI recently underwent several corporate turnovers with the Alcantara-led Filipino investment company Alson’s Prime Investment Corporation acquiring the 62.5 percent stake of world commodities giant Glencore International in SMI only last June.

Sources however said the Alsons takeover will not be completed until next month.

In January this year, Alsons also secured the 37.5 percent minority stake of Indophil Resources NL in SMI at a cost of US$296 million that was paid in cash.

Before the provincial government passed the environmental ordinance in 2013 banning open pit mining, SMI announced it was going to start commercial operations in 2018.

But Glencore, which gained control over SMI after booting out Xstrata Plc from the project in 2013 as part of its US$75 billion hostile takeover of the world’s 4th largest copper producer, decided to scale down SMI operations after failing to secure the nod of the provincial government.

Glencore likewise said it was hesitant to further finance ‘greenfield’ projects.

At the time Glencore took over SMI, the project has not gone beyond completion of its feasibility studies and exploration activities.

In slippers and tattered shoes On callous foot and in shorts. Wearing red with their hearts out. In their hoarsest voices they shout.No longer nameless facelessThey could not care lessThey came to honor the manKa Parago, the peasant’s son

They could have carried his casket in the shiny black Cadillac. Instead they went for a flatbed truck.

In another time and space, few would dare attend his wake. Instead they came in droves and from the mountains they trekked.

They brought with them large pots and giant cauldrons. Their daughters and sons.

All with one singular purpose. To pay their last respects to the man they call Tatay – Leoncio Pitao who went by the nom de guerre Ka Parago.

Open defiance

An overcast Friday in Davao City was flaming red hot.

In unprecedented show of force and open defiance, supporters and sympathizers of the New People’s Army descended in the city, once the paradise and hell of urban partisan warfare.

In an unprecedented show of force and defiance, some 10,000 sympathizers of the New People’s Army marched through the streets of Davao City Friday, July 10. Pic: Edwin Espejo

Not since the early 1980s when the late Alexander Orcullo was laid to rest did a throng of Leftist activists attended a funeral march in Davao City.

But then again, none has ever been held for a slain New People’s Army commander in decades of armed revolution.

One cannot fault the supporters of the rebels.

Illustrious son of the revolution

After all, Leoncio Pitao a.k.a. Ka Parago headed the first ever battalion of the NPA. He also was head of the biggest and strongest regional command throughout the country with at least six sub-regional commands and two special operations groups.

His daring military exploits and long history in the revolution made him both an urban and rural legend. The NPA’s most illustrious and successful commander.

In turn, he also was the biggest target of the entire government security apparatus. But instead of feasting on unabashed communist sympathizers openly calling for armed revolution, the state’s security and armed apparatus chose to be at a safe distance.

When they finally got Ka Parago after 14 years of a massive manhunt operation, the military proclaimed a huge success and pronounced the ‘death of the revolution.’

With more than a handful wearing masks with Ka Parago’s face Friday, the military could now be dealing with more Paragos.

Wearing mask of their fallen comrade, leftists vowed to continue with the ‘revolution.’ Pic: Edwin Espejo.

The activists and militants wanted to prove the military doomsayers entirely wrong in proclaiming the death of the revolution.

They brought Ka Parago’s remains at the ‘Gates of the Enemy’ to borrow from the title of a movie about a World War II Russian war hero.

In an emotionally charged funeral march, they brought Ka Parago’s hearse to the gates of the 10th Infantry Division in Panacan, Davao city – some 11 kilometers from the city-owned Davao Recreational Center (Almendras Gym) at Camp Catitipan (Police Regional Office 11) where his remains laid in state before heading back at the People’s Freedom Park at the heart of the city where they assembled for the final funeral march.

It could have been their rebel’s version of a state funeral as well.

Ka Parago led many long marches as a rebel commander throughout his 37 years in the armed struggle.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, hits Manny Pacquiao, from the Philippines, during their welterweight title fight on Saturday, May 2, 2015 in Las Vegas. Pic: AP.

Quite a number Filipino boxing fans shared the links to the story that Floyd Mayweather Jr was stripped of his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title, but failed to appreciate what goes beyond it.

Yes, with so many alphabet soup titles, winning or losing one hardly matters anymore. What counts is the money that comes in and prestige that goes along as a marquee fighter. One may hold all the titles in the world but if he fights in obscure championship cards, he is just a paper champion.

Crass commercialism has taken over the sport of boxing. It is now shaped by how you can command and deliver the biggest revenue for the promoters and the cable networks.

Yes, it is no longer dictated by the once hallowed world ranking system when there were only two competing professional boxing bodies – the World Boxing Council and the World Boxing Association.

It works for aspiring and rising stars – only.

A new brand of politics and economics has taken over professional boxing. Whereas boxing used by to be ruled basically by two hemispheres – WBA for Asia WBA and WBC for the Americas – it is now governed by pay per view buys and cable TV.

In their place are the HBOs, Showtimes, Top Ranks, Dela Hoyas and Haymons.

Stripped of his title, Floyd Mayweather Jr doesn’t really mind. What will hurt big time is is failure to attain universal acclaim as the greatest boxer of all time. Pic: AP.

World boxing bodies are now reduced to sanctioning and ceremonial rites.

When Manny Pacquiao demolished Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera over 11 rounds, he was regarded as the world best featherweight boxer and grabbed the latter’s Ring Magazine title.

No alphabet title but it signaled the beginning of Pacquiao’s ascent to boxing stardom.

Barrera was earlier stripped of his title for refusing to pay the sanctioning fee of the WBC – the same situation that surrounds Mayweather’s case with WBO.

The WBO has ordered Mayweather to pay a US$200,000 sanctioning fee for winning the WBO title from Pacquiao. The latter refused even though he earned more than US$220 million for the biggest fight in boxing history.

Mayweather is today’s biggest draw in boxing and is followed by Pacquiao. They can fight anybody without any title on the line, but they are guaranteed multimillion dollar purses.

Mayweather wouldn’t mind losing one title and another for as long as he gets paid in astronomical dollars.

But what may hurt him long term is his failure to get the universal acclaim he always sought as the world’s best fighter ever even after schooling Pacquiao in their fight in May.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – Mindanao authorities said the Philippine government is going to open shipping services from Brooke’s Point in Palawan to Muara Port in Brunei to go along with existing shipping routes in BIMP-EAGA.

Romeo Montenegro, investments and promotion officer of the Mindanao Development Authority, said he is currently in talks with local government officials in Palawan to explore trade products that may be shipped to Brunei.

Palawan grown bananas could soon be in the Malaysian, Brunei market if shipping links are opened.Pic by Edwin Espejo

Montenegro likewise said there is a big market for hot chili in BIMP-EAGA.

The cuisines of Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia are heavy on spices and hot chili.

The Palawan gateway is also eyeing a Brooke’s Point-Sandakan (Sabah, Malaysia) shipping route.

“We can import construction materials from Malaysia,” he added.

Malaysia and Brunei, along with Indonesia are part of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-EastAsia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

The BIMP-EAGA was organized in 1994.

It was aimed fostering economic, social and security cooperation among select cities in four countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

At least 4 Mindanao cities have already established trade and shipping links with BIMP-EAGA member countries. These are the cities of Davao, Zamboanga and Bongao in Tawi-Tawi.

In 2007, a shipping route between Glan in Sarangani Province and Tahuna in Indonesia was inaugurated but has since become dormant although occasional cargo trips are plying between General Santos City-Bitung and Davao-North Sulawesi.

Philippine authorities in Mindanao are also mulling the re-opening of Davao-Manado air link.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – The patriarch of the once powerful Ampatuan family that ruled the Mindanao province of Maguindanao for more than two decades has three to six months left to live, according to reports.

Former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. reportedly has cirrhosis of the liver and has been diagnosed as having a Stage 4 cancer.

Ampatuan has been named as the brains behind the 2009 massacre in southern Mindanao that left 58 people dead, among them 32 journalists and media workers.

He was charged and arrested along with his sons Andal Jr, Zaldy, Sajid, Anwar and son-in-law Akmad ‘Tato’ Ampatuan, who is also a nephew.

The special court hearing the case earlier granted the request of the counsels of Andal Sr for a medical checkup after his health deteriorated while in detention following their arrests.

He was admitted to the National Kidney Institute (NKI) on June 5 where he was diagnosed.

“Prognosis is currently dim as pharmacotic intervention is limited. Life expectancy for such case is usually three to six months but may be shorter if the liver function will continuously and progressively deteriorate,” Dr. Jade Jamias of the NKI said in an advisory.

On November 23, 2009, a convoy of vehicles was flagged down along the national highway in Ampatuan town by armed men led by then Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. while on its way to the provincial capitol to file the certificate of candidacy of then Buluan Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu.

The convoy was headed by Mangudadatu’s wife Genalyn and sisters Eden, Farida and Farina and several other relatives and supporters.

The victims were then herded and brought to a nearby secluded hill where they were mercilessly gunned down. A waiting backhoe dug a hole in an apparent attempt to hide the crime. Frantic calls from relatives of the victims, however, brought the military to the massacre site.

The perpetrators, numbering over 150 police, militiamen and private bodyguards hastily left the crime scene leaving a trail of blood and gore.

Of the 196 charged in court, only 106 have been arrested and placed in government custody.

Ampatuan’s youngest son Sajid was also granted bail by the court earlier this year.

Mangudadatu, who challenged the Ampatuans reign in the province, was elected governor in May 2010 and was re-elected in 2013.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – The military here confirmed that top New People’s Army (NPA) commander Leoncio Pitao, a.k.a Ka Parago, was killed in an encounter in Barangay Pañalum, Paquibato District in Davao City Sunday afternoon, June 28.

The encounter also resulted to the death of another NPA rebel, according to the same report.

A source from the underground likewise verified the report as true.

“Initial report from the Philippine’ Army’s 10th Infantry Division based in Mawab Davao del Norte indicated that one section of the 6th Scout Ranger Company led by Lt. Camarillo encountered an undetermined number of NPAs led by Parago himself,” the report said.

The military said they were able to recover the slain body of Parago and his still unidentified rebel companion.

Two M16 rifles and three backpacks were also retrieved from the clash site.

Parago is one of the oldest and most wanted NPA commanders in Mindanao who was captured in November 1999 but jumped bail and rejoined his comrades the following year.

Earlier in February of the same year, he gained national prominence when he led a rebel band that captured Army General Victor Obillo and his aide and held them hostage for several weeks before releasing them to the International Red Cross.

He was reported to have been killed several times only to resurface as head of the 1st Pulang Bagani Command, believed to be the main regional guerilla unit of the NPA’s Southern Mindanao Regional Command.

The NPA’s Southern Mindanao Region is reportedly the biggest and strongest command of the communist rebels with over 1,000 fully armed regulars spread across the Davao Provinces and parts of North Cotabato, Agusan del Sur and Bukidnon.

In 2009, an international outrage broke out in Davao City when suspected military agents abducted and killed her 20-year old daughter Rebelyn.

Rebelyn was dumped in a narrow ditched in Panabo City, some 45 kilometers away from where she was snatched.

At least 4 for the 7 suspected military agents named in the Rebelyn killing were themselves executed by the NPAs.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte described the slaying as “murder most foul.

Duterte and Ka Parago have become personal friends after the Davao City Mayor facilitated the release of a number of NPA ‘prisoners of war.’

Duterte even joined Ka Parago during anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the political party of the NPA.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Commodities trader Glencore Plc has reportedly agreed to sell its entire stake at Sagittarius Mines Inc (SMI) to Indophil Resources NL, which was acquired by Alsons Prime Investment Corporation for a yet-to-be-disclosed amount and acquisition terms.

This breaking development followed the January completion of the sale of Indophil Resources NL to Alsons Prime.

The report means the complete exit of the Switzerland-based Glencore PLC from the US$5.6 billion copper and gold project of SMI in Tampakan, South Cotabato.

It also ended several months of uncertainty about Glencore plans for the controversial mining project that has been met with strong opposition from the Catholic Church here, environmental groups and the communist-led New People’s Army.

SMI exploration and operations ground to a halt several months after Glencore acquired the majority stake in the mining firm from erstwhile majority holder Xstrata PLC when the commodities firm openly expressed reluctance to finance ‘greenfield’ projects.

Xstrata reportedly spent over US$350 million while the project was still at the development and exploration stage.

The Tampakan project never went beyond exploration stage, however.

In 2013, SMI ‘downgraded’ its operations, largely confined to maintaining community presence and skeletal office manpower, after it failed to obtain the critical nod of the provincial government of South Cotabato for its Tampakan project.

It laid off more close to 1,000 workers and employees in the last quarter of 2013 following the decision of Glencore to downscale its operations in Tampakan.

Glencore said it has already informed the Australian Stock Exchange of the planned sale of its SMI shares.

Glencore owns 62.5 percent of SMI while Alson controls the remaining 37.5 percent by virtue of its acquisition of Indophil.

The share sale agreement (SSA) between Glencore and Indophil includes “a number of conditions” which must be completed before June 30.

No details of the sale were disclosed.

Exploration firm Indophil Resources NL of Australia became a wholly Filipino-owned company effective January 13 when it delisted from the Australian Stock Exchange following the approval of its sale to Alsons Prime Investment Corporation in a stockholders meeting in December.

Alsons then was backed by Henry Sy’s SM Prime Holdings which earlier appointed Frederic DyBuncio as member of the Board of Directors of Indophil.

Nicasio Alcantara represented the Alsons Group.

Also owning minority shares in SMI are San Miguel Corporation’s Ramon Ang and PLDT’s Manny Pangilinan.

The deal was valued at AU$361 million (P14.3 billion) which was paid in cash

With the Glencore’s reported sale of its stakes to Indophil, SMI becomes a wholly-owned Filipino mining company,. although Indophil continues to be a ‘foreign-listed’ company.

There was no immediate statement from Alsons Prime Investment.

Gavan Collery, vice president for corporate affairs of Indophil, however confirmed that Glencore is divesting all its shares in SMI.

Undefeated John Vincent Moralde has yet to book a fight after winning in Australia where his opponent Brayd Smith died two days after collapsing in the dressing room following the fight. Pic: Edwin Espejo.

Moralde has yet to figure in a fight after winning a unanimous decision against Australian Brayd Smith in March this year. With an impressive record of 12 wins in 12 professional fights, he should have no trouble finding another out.

The problem is, Smith died March 16 due to severe head injuries two days after collapsing in his dressing room after he lost to Moralde.

It left Moralde shaken. But Moralde knows he has to leave the tragic memory to his past.

After all, he and the rest of his stable mates are living their dream to become the next Manny Pacquiao, whose lavish mansion is just over a kilometer away from the restaurant cum function venue turned into a gym by their promoter and manager Jim Claude Manangquil.

Originally from Davao City, Moralde made this city his second home in his pursuit for fame and glory.

So are the rest of 14 others in the gym hoping to follow the footsteps of Pacquiao.

No easy road

To some, boxing is as easy as wearing the padded mitts and knocking the other guy out.

But before one even climbs the ring for a four 3-minute round professional fight, he must have already logged more than 500 rounds of sparring, ran more than a 1,000 full marathons, skipped the rope a million times, punched the heavy bag more than 100,000 times and punished himself like no other.

The punishing hours in the gym make boxing a sports with a very high dropout rate.Pic by EDWIN ESPEJO

The punishing gym work has made many would be Pacquiaos quit before they can even register a couple of wins. The success rate is very slim in the brutal world of boxing.

For every one Pacquiao that made it big time – and he is the only Filipino and Asian to have reached the pinnacle of world boxing fame – more than a 100,000 others have fallen by the wayside.

There is no doubt many of Moralde’s stable mates won’t make it beyond a 10-rounder. Let alone become Philippine champion.

But they have to dream. Boxing is a poor man’s sports. Fame and glory is a boxer’s way out of the poverty rut.

Dela Torre is reported to have signed a co-managerial contract with former world welterweight champion Zab Judah.

It is a wise move. No Filipino boxer has ever made it big without signing up with foreign managers with the right ring connection.

Even Manny Pacquiao went through an acrimonious managerial dispute with Muhammad Murad who he later sued.

Like Petalcorin, who also signed up with Australian Peter Maniatis, dela Torre still trains at Sanman Gym waiting for his next bout call.

Boxing renaissance
Pro boxing has picked up in this city ever since Pacquiao broke into the world boxing scene.

But the renaissance has never been as apparent so quickly the last few months with the thought and reality that Pacquiao may be down to his last fight or two before hanging up his gloves for good.

In a span of two months, three boxing cards have already been put up and another one is coming up on July 11. What makes the local boxing scene interesting is the re-entry of MP Promotions, a largely Davao-based promotional outfit owned by Pacquiao and managed by trusted second Nonoy Neri.

There are also at least two other promoters maintaining a good number of boxers in their stable – Amoy Boxing and Golingan Boxing stables.

Many of their boxers have not registered in the consciousness of Filipino boxing fans – like the ALA and Gello-ani boxers of Cebu who have been getting national TV exposures.

Local promoters here are hoping their wards will get similar attention soon. General Santos, after all, officially fancies itself as ‘Home of Champions’.

Pacquiao has so dominated Philippine boxing scene that for over a decade and a half, many simonpures have been relegated to second or third billing.

Now is their time to shine and prove there is life in Philippine boxing beyond Pacquiao.

After all, before Pacquiao, there were Pancho Villas, Gabriel Flash Elordes, Luisito Espinosas, Gerry Peñalosas and General Santos City’s very own Rolando Navarrette.

SARANGANI, Philippines – Either you love him or hate him. Davao City’s Rodrigo Duterte is a colorful man and you will drop everything you are doing to listen to his equally colorful language – like it or not.

Consider this.

When Private First Class Khen Subere was released by the New People’s Army (NPA) after two months of captivity on June 13, he asked the Army man why he was declared absent without official leave (AWOL).

The Army man said he could not call his team leader as his cellular phone was seized by the communist rebels.

“Ako pa nimo balhin ka sa NPA (If I were you, I would have joined the NPA),” he matter-of-factly told the army private when he was informed that the failure of Subere to report to his superiors also led to his removal from the roster of active servicemen, 10 days after he was abducted by the rebels.

His remarks drew laughs from reporters covering the release.

But Duterte said he was serious.

“I don’t like idea that you were declared AWOL just because you were taken hostage,” the mayor said.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte fields questions from reporters during the release of Army man Pfc Khen Subere in Kiamba, Sarangani on June 13. Duterte is seated with the NPA’s Ka Dindo to his right. Pic: Edwin Espejo.

Yet he said he would fly the still shaken Army man in his private helicopter to the headquarters of the 10th Infantry Division, whose commanding general is a good friend and whose unit is a long recipient of Duterte’s generous intelligence funds.

Duterte wasn’t finished, though.

When asked how he will deal with the communist rebels if he becomes president, he answered even before the question could be finished: “This (insurgency) will be over.”

He said he will invite Luis Jalandoni of the National Democratic Front to join his government.

Duterte went on to explain that he will give communists 3 cabinet positions under his presidency – agrarian reform, social welfare and environment and natural resources.

“Dili coalition kay kanang military mo-kuwan kuwan og coalition. Diretso na.” he added. (Not a coalition government because the military is averse to that. We will directly absorb [the Left in government]).

Duterte has been moving around the country on a “listening tour” to gain support for his campaign to shift into a federal form of government, although many observers believe he is getting the pulse of the people for a possible run at the presidency.

Last week, a new survey increased his poll rating for the presidency from virtually zero in February and 12 percent in March to 15 and 19 percent in two different major poll surveys in the last week of May.

So, how will he handle the military?

Duterte is confident he will be able to put reins on the military, from which he commands a high degree of respectability and acceptability.

“I just happen to be a socialist. Sosyalista ang akong panlantaw sa katilingban (I have a socialist perspective for our society),” he went on.

Perhaps it is Duterte’s long standing relationship with both the above Left and the underground movement that has largely kept him insulated from becoming a target of the mainstream Left’s human rights campaign.

Despite allegations of maintaining and funding a death squads that target criminals, allegations of human rights abuses do not resonate against Duterte, although a special rapporteur of the United Nations and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima have openly accused him of supporting the extrajudicial killings in Davao City.

Many consider him a political maverick and so far the most formidable ‘presidentiable’ to have emerged from Mindanao. No Mindanaoan has ever been elected to the presidency.

His ‘progressive line’, despite being 71 years old when the presidential campaign period starts next year, will undoubtedly endear him to the Left, assuring him of at least 2 million in ‘command’ votes. But no doubt, many in the political right will find him too ‘radical’ for comfort.

Will the country vote for a Left-leaning Duterte to the presidency just as many Latin and South American countries have elected communists and socialists presidents this millennium?

Duterte’s strength is that despite his tough-guy reputation, Davao City and most of Mindanao have embraced him as one of their own. And his leadership style really works – in Davao City.

Is Duterte going to conquer the Philippine electorate where the Maoist Left has so far failed to do so: Surround the city from the countryside?

Duterte, after all, is coming from the south and the only ‘local’ politician that, so far, mounting a serious challenge to the presidency despite his avowed denials.

Days after a New York-based human rights group issued a call for the Philippine government to investigate him, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte dared his critics to directly file criminal cases against him in court.

The catch, however, is that they will have to face him in court.

Duterte has been linked to a clandestine assassination squad that has been targeting criminals and known drug pushers in Davao City. He is rumored to have once pushed a drug dealer out of a flying helicopter.

“I will cross examine. Each and every case of 1,000 deaths. I will let you s**t in your pants. You want to experience it? Come to Davao and take hold of shabu (methamphetamine). I will execute you in front of city hall,” said the mayor who has been described by Time magazine as ‘The Punisher’.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) however said, “Duterte’s public support for the extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals should prompt a long overdue investigation into Duterte’s possible role in those deaths.”

“Duterte has a long history of inflammatory public statements that would seem to encourage the extrajudicial killing of suspected criminals,” HRW added in a press statement.

HRW claimed more than 1,000 people had been executed in Davao City since the late 1990s.

“The Philippine government should take a zero-tolerance approach to any public official who publicly endorses extrajudicial killings as an acceptable means of crime control,” said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Duterte, a former city prosecutor, has been mayor of the Philippine southern city for more than 20 years.

The controversial Philippine mayor has been making inroads in Philippine national politics after he crashed into the list of probable presidential candidates next year.

He is advocating federalism in his ‘listening tour’ that has brought him to several key cities in the country, including a quick visit to the large community of overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong.

He is running third in at least two major polling firms making surveys on probable presidential candidates.

His supporters have been pushing Duterte to announce his presidential bid but the mayor has been playing coy.

The Davao City mayor once said he will rebel against his own government if elected president.

“I will declare a revolutionary government,” he previously declared.

On Sunday during his regular TV program, he said he will turn Manila Bay into a dumping ground of executed criminals and thugs.

“I don’t want to be president. I don’t want to kill people. So don’t elect me as president,” Duterte added.

Despite his links to extrajudicial killings that have already spread in major cities and urban centers in the country, Duterte still enjoys popular support of Davao residents and is believed to corner the bulk of Mindanao votes should he run for president.

As good as he is, Mayweather’s greatness will be celebrated when he is long gone from boxing. Pic: AP.

When I was interviewed by Star Sports for a special on Manny Pacquiao, I was asked where he will rank in the history of Philippine boxing.

That was late in 2006.

Too bad, I did not get a copy of that sports special. While it was shown by the local cable TV provider here in General Santos City, the one-hour special which featured other great Asian athletes was cut short because Pacquiao was then in the middle of the 2007 congressional elections. His opponent apparently invoked a Philippine law that prohibits undue media exposure for candidates.

Pacquiao lost in that election.

I was tentative with my thoughts, although I already saw greatness in him.

If I remember it right, I said Pacquiao’s greatness will be measured when he is done with boxing.

Gabriel ‘Flash’ Elorde was then still the standard of greatness in Philippine sports and boxing.

Apparently, I spoke too soon.

After all, no one at that time ever thought Pacquiao would, less than 2 years later, crush Oscar de la Hoya in a career-defining victory that transformed him overnight into a crossover sports celebrity.

Then he marched, nay bulldozed, his way to becoming the only 8-division world boxing champion ever.

Pacquiao not only enthroned himself as the best boxer and athlete the Philippines has ever produced, he is now considered one of best fighters to ever don the laced mitts.

Nobody doubts he will make it as a first ballot entrant to boxing’s Hall of Fame.

In fact, retiring now will even solidify the niche he boxed his way into.

How about Mayweather? If Pacquiao is great, then Mayweather is greater. Right?

As good as he is, acceptance as a consummate fighter has eluded the American Olympic bronze medalist.

Mayweather possesses the qualities that should make people consider him a great boxer. Not that he is not.

But why is universal recognition so elusive for him?

Is it because he is brash? Well, Muhammad Ali was not only a brash and vicious trash-talker, he defied and challenged the establishment when he refused to be drafted into the US Army. He once called the eminent Joe Frazier a gorilla. But he became great even before his decline.

Or is it because of Floyd’s vociferous persona both inside and outside the ring? Mayweather has had several brushes with the law, including serving a sentence for battering his wife. Before he spent time in jail, he already received several suspended sentences for minor misdemeanors.

Or is it because Mayweather put business before sport? Before he became the top money-maker of boxing, Mayweather, too, fought in less stellar boxing cards. He was defeating opponents his way, though. Sometimes by knockouts but later most of the times by making the other guy look awkward and amateurish over the distance. Is it a fault to collect his paybacks? He is within his right to make a good living.

Is it because he rubbed people the wrong way? Or is it because his moments came at a time when there is a dearth of boxing talent in with whom he can be measured up against?

True, Pacquiao is a phenomenon. Oscar de la Hoya is one of the true superstars of boxing. Miguel Angel Cotto and Ricky Hatton are fringe candidates to Canastota. Shane Mosley may even get there. Juan Manuel Marquez is a definitely going there. They all went down in defeat against him.

But the circumstances and the timing of his fights against these five common opponents are weighing against Mayweather when pitted against Pacquiao’s impressive wins over them.

Styles of course make fights and both their styles make perfect matches against their common opponents, with the exception of Marquez with whom Pacquiao had difficulties.

Against each other, Mayweather was the better fighter with a style that perfectly complements his size and height advantages over the Filipino boxing icon.

So why does Pacquiao come ahead of him in universal appeal?

Pacquiao, apart from being an explosive and electrifying fighter, has successfully created a likeable persona outside the ring that hides his ferocity when made to wear the punching gloves.

What about Mayweather? He is good, as proved by his undefeated record. It is that the style of Mayweather just doesn’t endear himself to boxing fans who thirst for blood and excitement.

Yes, Mayweather is as great as Pacquiao. Maybe even better.

But his greatness will not come in his time. If he goes on to retire undefeated, his feat will be celebrated when he is long gone from boxing.

You don’t kick dead horses. But this is not about dead horses. Nor is this a pathetic post mortem review.

Some will always criticize others for being Monday-morning-post-fight analysts. Trouble is, many still cannot move on (oh that worn out cliché) and are still in the denial stage.

Manny Pacquiao himself went through different stages of disbelief before accepting defeat. In an interview atop the ring after it was announced Floyd Mayweather Jr. won one of the ugliest and most overhyped boxing matches in recent years, Pacquiao said he thought he had won it. At the post-fight press conference later, he accepted that his best was not enough.

Indeed, Pacquiao lost the fight. But not in a manner that it took away what he has done and what he has become in boxing.

Fast forward to the injury.

Now that is something Pacquiao fans are finding comfort in after the defeat of their boxing idol.

But something was wrong about the injury or what the public did not know about it. Nobody reported about it. With all the media attention and with all the major networks and outlets keeping close watch, it was indeed a superb act for Team Pacquiao to be able to conceal it.

Either the media failed in its job or it chose to turn its back and pretended to know nothing. By opting not to publicly disclose the injury heading into the fight, however, Team Pacquiao has found sympathetic ears from disappointed boxing fans. But one cannot blame others for dismissing it as an alibi, one that leaves bad taste to the mouth. Pacquiao has certainly received flak for the non-disclosure. It did not help that he was made to explain it himself.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, hits Manny Pacquiao, from the Philippines, during their welterweight title fight on Saturday, May 2, 2015 in Las Vegas. Pic: AP.

Perennial bad guy Michael Koncz of Team Pacquiao later put the blame on himself for (not properly) filling up the form of the Nevada State Athletic Commission asking for medical issues that the Filipino boxer might have. Even trusted friend Buboy Fernandez jumped into the fray in admitting he pushed for the fight even if Pacquiao had already injured his shoulder.

Pacquiao is now being sued for false declaration. Nothing to worry about though. These suits will go nowhere.

Still, the Pacquiao debacle will go on. For all we know, all this post-fight drumbeating could be a calculated ploy to whet the appetite for a rematch. And it looks like there will be one next year. Top Rank’s Bob Arum, the consummate promoter and shrewd businessman that he is, believes a rematch could happen. And at the rate they are drumming up the shoulder injury of Pacquiao, they may get their wish.

“The fact that he (Mayweather) won the fight, what does that mean? The two of them together created such a bonanza – numbers we’ve never seen before and without Manny who could Floyd create a bonanza like that with?” Arum was quoted as saying by boxing columnist Gareth Davies.

Mayweather himself has already said Pacquiao will get his rematch next year.

With the pay-per-view buys of the Mayweather-Pacquiao expected to break all records, the promoters and cable producers and distributors sure will be laughing their way to the bank with the gods of Las Vegas grinning inside their vaults.

Mayweather himself was handed a US$100 million check as partial payment for his workmanlike thrashing of Pacquiao.

The 8-division Filipino world boxing champion got his US$50 million guaranteed purse from Arum, again as partial payment.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Manny Pacquiao lost the biggest fight of his life right at the start when, in the first round, his vaunted aggression was stymied by his tentativeness.

It was a round in which Floyd Mayweather Jr right away established his jabs to keep Pacquiao from teeing off.

Bigger and taller, Mayweather was able to establish his game plan, moving to his left whenever Pacquiao lunged and clinching when the Filipino came close.

Several times Mayweather hit below the belt or dug his elbow into the face of the Filipino to push him away when the referee told them to break during clinches. He pushed down Pacquiao behind the back of his head and almost got away locking the head of the 8-division world champion.

It was an ugly win for Mayweather and a painful loss for Pacquiao. But a win is a win.

For a man obsessed with keeping his immaculate record, it was a necessary tactic to keep the streak going.

Whoever said Mayweather would keep it clean does not know his or her boxing.

Some even said it was a bad decision. But, no, it was not a bad decision. It was the right decision at the end of a disappointing fight that never measured up to the hype.

Two rounds

Pacquiao won clearly in only two rounds – rounds 4 and 6 – when he kept Mayweather in the pocket and connected with a flurry of punches. But these came like rain in a hot summer.

Pacquiao said he thought he won the fight. His relatives here in General Santos City also thought he did, according to a local TV station who visited his mansion.

But Mayweather clearly won this one. In the tactical battle between two of the biggest boxing names in their generation, it was Mayweather whose game plan worked.

Pacquiao was not able to solve the Mayweather puzzle. Never able to execute a Plan B or Plan C when all did not work
He was schooled, his guns silenced.

General Santos City Mayor Ronnel Rivera nonetheless said Pacquiao put up a brave fight. He said his good friend and political ally has nothing to be ashamed of. He will still be revered as the greatest Filipino boxer of all time.

Pacquiao fan Philip Pabelic said Mayweather was too good for Pacquiao on the day.

At the gym in Lagao, General Santos City, the loud roars of some 6,000 fans during the introduction and the start of Round 1 had turned to tense silence by the middle of the fight when it was apparent Pacquiao’s electric ways were not working for the fight.

When the bell rang at the end there were boos. Perhaps because of the lack of action, or maybe because many felt Pacquiao came up short. When the runaway unanimous decision was announced, there were no loud protests. The jeers were halfhearted. They knew their idol lost this one.

Until they have gone through the first three or four rounds, nobody really knows which versions of Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao will show up for the biggest fight tomorrow, Sunday in the Philippines.

The two boxers have been cloistered away for much of their 10-week training time. Each has carefully laid out his own strategy and tactics to proclaim himself the greatest of the generation come crunch and decision time.

That Mayweather will stick to his defensive best is already a given. What remains to be seen is how he neutralizes Pacquiao’s relentless assault.

Pacquiao will be all by himself atop the ring with Mayweather tomorrow.Pic by Edwin Espejo

Mayweather will also be hitting at a target more agile or even faster than he is.

Nothing has prepared him for this.

When the two are left alone atop the ring with only the referee inside, they may or may not be able to execute their plans.

The first three or four rounds will be a tactical battle. Like chess, each fighter will position their pieces and hope to build a strong offense or defense as the case may be.

But because they are a study of contrasting styles, somebody has to take the risk to make a fight really happen.

Pacquiao’s strategy is to give Mayweather the controlled aggression more than the American can handle.

Freddie Roach said he forced Pacquiao to use his left more often in the most difficult training camp the two had ever put up.

Roach, like a true ring tactician, is probably telling us only half-truths because there will be a lot of feinting and faking and plenty of rights that will come from Manny’s way.

What Roach probably also did not elaborate is that Pacquiao will use a lot of double and triple lefts to confuse and put Mayweather’s defense off guard.

Of course I am just trying to figure out which strategy will work best against Mayweather.

But there are givens that Pacquiao should avoid.

There should be no pattern in his offense. No careless rushing in. And never lose patience.

The offense must not be static. He must never allow Mayweather to get into his comfort zone.

Give Mayweather different looks in every round.

Lots of bobbing and weaving. Plenty of body shots. And abundant lateral movements. Vary the punch combinations. These will help confuse Mayweather and forget that boxing means hitting not evading.

When Mayweather is reduced to avoiding being hit rather than compelling Pacquiao to miss, half the battle is won.

Meanwhile, the two will sleep in the longest night of their boxing life.

Top Rank’s Bob Arum is famous for saying “I lied yesterday. Today, I am telling the truth.”

And he is right on target when he said the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight tomorrow is not the biggest fight ever in professional boxing.

It was the Muhammad Ali-Jose Frazier I that will go down in history as the greatest ever, according to him.

Imagine if it happened today – in the age of social media, internet and cable TV. How big would it be?

Until the Mayweather-Pacquio fight is played out in a manner that equals or surpasses the level of ferocity and animosity of, say, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns and the Ali-Frazier Thrilla in Manila, no one can call it the greatest ever.

Floyd Mayweather Jr has been carefully packaged throughout his pro career Pic: AP.

Ali and Frazier have bad blood against each other amid the global anti-Vietnam War movement that polarized not only America but the rest of the world.

They fought at the height of the Cold War.

Their first fight was politically charged. Ali was coming from forced ‘exile’ after refusing to be drafted into the Vietnam War. Incidentally, he had just renounced his christen-name Cassius Clay to embrace Islam.

Imagine if that happened today in the American ‘War Against Terror’.

In the last of their three fights, an exhausted Ali, who won via technical knockout when Eddie Futch vehemently prevented Frazier from answering the 14th round bell, said it was the closest there is to death.

Hagler and Hearns came from a talent-laden era where the best fought the best. They were their generation’s pure and unadulterated fighters. Boxing purists hail their encounter as the best ever three rounds in professional boxing which ended in a Hearns’ knockout.

During their time and prime, it was not unusual to fight six or more times in a year.

Today, with big money and pay per view television effectively cutting off boxing fans from live gates and free viewing, only marquee fighters get to have their fight shown on live feed.

This also adds new meaning to marquee fighters. Marquee means cash register ringers and plenty of hype in the buildup of a fighter.

Floyd has become the symbol of new marquee fighters. His career has been carefully plotted but his choice of opponents often times has left much wanting.

Pacquiao belongs to the old school with a different twist. A charismatic demon atop the ring.

On Sunday, I hope Arum will again be lying.

Everybody wants a fight to live up to its billing as The Biggest Fight in the Century, including the Ali-Frazier I offering.

Protesters, who had been keeping vigil at the Indonesian Embassy in the financial district of Makati city east of Manila, Philippines, celebrate Mary Jane Veloso’s reprieve. Pic: AP.

A multi-front and multi-prong campaign to save Mary Jane Veloso from what seemed like certain death in Indonesia paid off as she was given an eleventh-hour reprieve Tuesday night.

Eight other convicts were not so lucky. They were executed by firing squad early this morning at Besi prison on Nusakambangan Island. The Indonesian government announced shortly after that Veloso was not executed because her alleged recruiter had been arrested in the Philippines.

The Filipina mother of two has insisted that she did not know the 2.6 kilograms of heroin was stashed in the traveling bag lent to her by the recruiter.

But it took the Philippine government more than 5 years before it hastily filed charges against her suspected recruiter, who is also her stepsister.

That case was taken into consideration by the Indonesian government as it rushed through a late reprieve.

For now, it remains only a reprieve – she has not been granted clemency.

There is a long road ahead if the Indonesian government is to be convinced to grant her clemency and order her return to the Philippines so she could be united with her family.

The nation is grateful Indonesia heard the collective voices of Filipinos, many of whom see Veloso as a victim not only of international drug syndicate but also of human trafficking.

Those who organized the campaign to save her deserve praise. They kept the fire burning.

That cannot be said of the embassy officials in Indonesia who failed to put up a credible defense for the domestic helper.

That the Philippine embassy in Jakarta overlooked Indonesian and international laws on human trafficking which could have spared Mary Jane from conviction in the very first place needs to be closely scrutinized. It took Migrante lawyers to cite Indonesia’s ‘Law on the Eradication of the Criminal Act on Trafficking in Persons’ which, according to National Union of Progressive Lawyers (of the Philippines), contains a “non-punishment” clause for criminal acts committed by trafficked persons like Veloso.

Why did the Philippine embassy not contest the charge of drug trafficking thrown against her and fail to present her as a victim of human trafficking?

Again this is a fundamental question that the Philippine government will have to reassess when dealing with similar incidents in the future. It may be time for it to review all cases of Filipinos abroad convicted of similar offenses.

Mary Jane Veloso’s case was not the first. Neither will it be the last.

]]>http://asiancorrespondent.com/132518/philippines-celebrates-mary-jane-veloso-reprieve/feed/0Pacquiao Watch: More than just a southpawhttp://asiancorrespondent.com/132510/pacquiao-watch-more-than-just-a-southpaw/
http://asiancorrespondent.com/132510/pacquiao-watch-more-than-just-a-southpaw/#commentsWed, 29 Apr 2015 01:05:10 +0000http://asiancorrespondent.com/?p=132510

Manny Pacquiao’s right hand could be a factor in the fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Pic: Edwin Espejo.

Over the years and in the course of his famed and fabled boxing career, Manny Pacquiao has been known to possess a lethal left.

Matter of fact, that left – whether straight or hook – has already sent many into dreamland.

It will again be his main and, without doubt, best weapon against Floyd Mayweather Jr who he will engage in the most anticipated fight in more than three decades on Sunday, May 3 (Philippine time).

Trainer Freddie Roach was reported to have coached Pacquiao to throw those lefts more often and with the meanest force. But I do not think he has exclusively conditioned Pacquiao to forget his also-lethal right hand.

While almost everybody knows Pacquiao is a southpaw, he is ambidextrous too. He writes and eats with his right hand.

In basketball, one is trained to shoot with both hands. But in boxing, the norm is to use the weaker to set up the favored and stronger hand.

Roach began forcing Pacquiao to use his right hand after he suffered a decisive defeat against Erik Morales.

Pacquiao went head hunting against Morales with his left. He paid dearly when the strategy failed against a boxer of Morales’ caliber.

It also didn’t work with Juan Manuel Marquez in their first fight.

But when Pacquiao “rediscovered” his right hand, he hit phenomenal form.

Pacquiao’s right hand is one of his most underrated strengths, apart from his often overlooked defense

It was his right that finally sent David Diaz to the canvas in winning the lightweight crown en route to breaking through the barrier of the elite company of 5-division world boxing champions. (His win over Marco Antonio Barrera was for the lineal featherweight title after capturing the regular flyweight, super bantamweight, super featherweight boxing crowns)

Against, Ricky Hatton, it was his right hook that sent the brash Briton to the canvas for the first time in the second round. Less than 2 minutes later, Hatton fell like a timber from a left straight thrown with the full weight of the Filipino’s waist and hips.

It was his right hand that repeatedly rocked and did equal damage to Oscar de la Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito who were all wary of his vaunted left coming into the fight.

It would be a disaster if Pacquiao again fell in love with his left hand after the painful lesson of the Morales loss – the only defeat in his career in which he was totally outclassed.

Against the shoulder roll defense of Mayweather, right hooks to the face and the side of the body could open up and lure the American into the center of the ring where both their foot and hand speeds will be tested.

Pacquiao cannot afford to be predictable with his left against Mayweather, whose greatest strength is the ability to read and anticipate punches although, admittedly, the direction and trajectory of Pacquiao’s punches will test that tactical strength of the American.

By this time, Team Pacquiao is on its way to Las Vegas for what could be a long wait to eternity.

Despite the glare of the spotlight and the chaotic frenzy of the media and fans as the fight nears, it will be the loneliest week for both Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Deep inside them, they will conjure the fight the way it was laid out and strategized for them in training.

They might be able to set these scenarios aside for some brief moments for the obligatory press briefings and deluge of well-wishers. But when they see those billboards of their fight and are held to brief moments by themselves, they will have those fast-forward flashes.

Only the closest in Team Pacquiao knows what his fight strategy will be come fight night.

Like Pacquiao, Mayweather was cloistered during training. Like the electric Filipino boxing champion, he too has reviewed the tapes of his opponent’s best fights. Each has been looking for opportunities to exploit the slightest mistakes.

But all those preparations will be behind them when they face each other atop the ring. What one was set and prepared for might not be what they will have when they begin hitting each other.

There are many nuances of the fight that are worth looking for. That Pacquiao will throw punches in bunches and in a pace that he is known for, albeit a little more discreet this time, is a given. Mayweather, as everybody knows, is a master of evasion. He makes a living out of it. It is the nuances of the fight that make the Mayweather-Pacquiao encounter worth waiting and interesting to watch.

Hometown decision. Mayweather makes Las Vegas his principal home. He rakes in big money from high-rollers whenever he fights in the Sin City. It is hard to imagine him losing by a close decision. Pacquiao, despite fighting a total of 14 times already in Las Vegas – 11 of them at the MGM Grand – clearly is still a gatecrasher. He needs to score a knockout or a very convincing decision to offset Mayweather’s perceived hometown advantage.

Dirty tactics. Mayweather has all the smarts to make some foul shots look legit. He pushes with his elbows and in the case of Victor Ortiz, may hit during break. He will surely use all the tricks in the books to unsettle Pacquiao.

Fear factor. Pacquiao has always been known to illicit fear in his opponents, even before the first punch is thrown. Those who didn’t already quickly realize how strong he is the moment Pacquiao lands his introductory power punch. Pacquiao needs to let Mayweather feel the sting of his punches.

Patience and Frustration. Pacquiao needs to be patient against Mayweather’s vaunted defense. That means absorbing a lot from Mayweather in order to get that opening. He can look to the past. Against Chatchai Saisakul, he was way behind on points until he was able to connect the one big punch in the 7th round that sapped the will of the Thai to engage him. The following round, he hit Saisakul with a powerful left hook to the chin and put the lights out for the Thai. Pacquiao can also turn the table and work frustration to his favor. He must make Mayweather believe that he is already a loser in agreeing to fight him. And proving he can take the best punches of the flamboyant American might just do it because at these late stages of their careers, Pacquiao cannot hope to outbox the slick Mayweather.

Adjustment. Mike Tyson once said “everybody has a plan until they get hit”. When everything in training does not work, it is the fighter – seasoned as both are – who can easily adjust and shift gears and dictate the tempo of the fight that will emerge superior. Mayweather is very good at it. But Pacquiao could be a difficult challenge.

Again, the strengths and weaknesses of each fighter have been scrutinized to the limit.

But nobody has an idea yet how the fight will turn out to be. Oh, Sunday what will you be?

Philippine national Mary Jane Veloso, who is on death row for drug offences, pictured at a judicial review at an Indonesian court earlier this month. Pic: AP.

Unless the Indonesian government orders a stay of her execution, Mary Jane Veloso is expected to face the firing squad tomorrow, Tuesday, along with eight others convicted of drug trafficking.

Like many before her who were also arrested, charged and convicted for similar offenses in other countries, the Philippine government’s last minute appeal to overturn her conviction appears to be another case of too little, too late.

That Veloso said she didn’t know that heroin was in the suitcase lent to her in 2009 should have long ago prompted the Philippine government to launch an investigation into the circumstances that led her to fall victim to an international drug syndicate.

You just don’t stash 2.6 kilograms of heroin into a suitcase without somebody paying and waiting for it in Indonesia.

Even if the 30-year-old mother of two Veloso was a knowing victim in her pursuit for quick money, the least that the government could have done was file a case against her recruiter.

Drug mules are called as such – mules – because they are expendable once caught.

But that does not take away the Filipino in them. They still deserve legal assistance from our embassy which, as revealed, was not extended in time.

Why do we only get to read the story of Veloso by her own account recently?

Anyone who bothers to read her narrative will see the anguish of a poverty driven mother forced to leave her children in search for a living, only to fall victim to a heartless drug syndicate.

It no long matters if she was telling the truth or not. What is paramount is that we have failed to give her all the protection that she needed. Protection from poverty. From syndicates who exploited her plight.

We just hope that the last-minute appeal of the government – including President Benigno Aquino III – will work and help save the life of Veloso.

Like many before her – Flor Contemplacion among them – Veloso’s story shows the dark side of the lives of overseas Filipino workers who are trumpeted by the government as the new heroes of the country.

Not all who seek employment abroad end up sending remittances to their families. Others pay the price with their lives.

The European Union (EU) has removed the Philippines from the list of countries being challenged in the implementation of measures to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

“Today, the European Commission has revoked the warning yellow card issued to the Philippines in June 2014 regarding measures to fight illegal fishing. The EU acknowledges Philippines’ efforts to partner up with us in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,” the European body said in its website.

The Philippines was issued warning – a yellow card – in June last year for possible violation of the strict European standard on traceability of imported fish products.

The country was advised “to fulfill its commitment in deterring and preventing IUU fishing (IUUF) to avoid the possibility of being identified as a non-cooperating country in the international fight against IUUF.”

Philippine agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala immediately welcomed the EU decision to remove the Philippines form the yellow card list saying it will secure the long-term livelihood of 1.8 million Filipino fisher folks.

The Philippines exports US$180 million worth of fish products to the EU market every year.

Most of the fish products that the Philippine exports to Europe are canned and processed tuna.

The EU decision also came after the Philippine government enacted a new fisheries law that will ensure compliance to international agreements on fishing as well as institute measures to help curb illegal fishing and protect marine resources.

“The Department is pleased with this development as it formally recognizes the government’s serious efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of fisheries resource abuse,” Alcala said in a statement.

The European Union earlier granted the Philippines a GSP + status, allowing zero tariffs on over 7,000 Philippine export products, among them tuna and other marine and aquatic products.

Generalized System of Preference or GSP is a preferential tariff system which provides for a formal system of exemption from the more general rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).